Provocative, action packed, articulate, heart breaking… and on top of that, it’s a book I could read in a weekend. Philip Larkin noted that parents can mess you up, and Tchaikovsky raises the point that so can your programming. Caution whispers through Rex’s desire to be a Good Dog and looks to establish ground around Asimov’s three laws. It is beautifully done, and not a sign of a soapbox lecture anywhere. The multiple points of view used to share their story further enhances an already tense read, without burying either the plot or reader in warnings of morality. Those who are familiar with Tchaikovsky’s work wouldn’t expect anything less. Insidious legal and social drama steps up the pace and expands on the issues surrounding Rex and the many Multiform Assault Packs used in the well developed and thought out environments. Suitably like the AI within Dogs of War, the plot develops and grows. The emotions evoked by these man made beasts are tangible as they learn from their tactical deployments. The near future military beginning of Dogs of War is frighteningly plausible. Tchaikovsky delves deep into the ethical questions around AI as the Bioforms rip into human assigned targets. And to do that he must do exactly what Master says and Master says he’s got to kill a lot of enemies.īut who, exactly, are the enemies? What happens when Master is tried as a war criminal? What rights does the Geneva Convention grant weapons? Do Rex and his fellow Bioforms even have a right to exist? And what happens when Rex slips his leash? He has the intelligence to carry out his orders and feedback implants to reward him when he does. Rex is a genetically engineered Bioform, a deadly weapon in a dirty war. With Dragon, Honey and Bees, he’s part of a Multiform Assault Pack operating in the lawless anarchy of Campeche, south-eastern Mexico. Rex is also seven foot tall at the shoulder, bulletproof, bristling with heavy calibre weaponry and his voice resonates with subsonics especially designed to instil fear. These same humans happen to be interested in making money. A team of Bioforms created by humans to work in life threatening scenarios. Along with Dragon, Honey and Bees they form a Multiform Assault Pack.
Dogs of War packs all you could want from your Science Fiction, along with everything you didn’t realise you wanted for good measure.
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